The shelter for three hundred asylum seekers in the Van der Valk hotel in Uden will open on Wednesday. The first 98 residents will then move in during the afternoon and will be brought by COA by bus. This is possible so quickly because the municipal council of Maashorst, which includes Uden, issued the permit on Tuesday.
The arrival of the status holders and asylum seekers, 300 people in total, was preceded by a number of high-speed court cases. Local residents had objected to the municipality’s consultation procedure, which in their view was careless.
They got the court in Den Bosch on their side. He decided on Monday that the consultation procedure was indeed careless, as had previously been determined by a judge. But the court did find that asylum reception should be possible as soon as the permit had been arranged. The municipality of Maashorst did not hesitate to do so and received the permit on Tuesday, after which reception in the hotel became a reality on Wednesday.
Local residents who objected remain angry with the municipality. “We are happy with the court’s ruling,” said a local resident. He speaks on behalf of the entire group of more than thirty local residents. “We have been proven right by the judge again.” But the anger about the whole turn of events remains. “All this hassle would not have been necessary if the municipality had arranged it properly.”
“They should be ashamed of themselves.”
The local resident is, among other things, angry that the municipality has appealed: “Instead of saying ‘sorry’ that it was not arranged properly, they are appealing. They are causing us to incur costs. It causes stress. They would feel should be ashamed.”
The fact that the permit was issued so soon after Monday’s ruling does not sit well with local residents. “If that had been arranged immediately, none of this would have been necessary,” says the local resident. “We are going to see whether the permit provides a good plan. If so, we will not object. But I have little confidence that things will go well now.”
After the legal tug-of-war between the objectors and the municipality of Maashorst, a new step will be taken on Wednesday afternoon between half past two and two o’clock. The first buses will then arrive at the Rondweg in Uden with the new residents of the hotel.
The shelter is intended for status holders who would already be accommodated by the municipality of Maashorst. Status holders who are waiting for a home in one of the surrounding municipalities are also temporarily accommodated in the Van der Valk hotel. The remaining places are reserved for asylum seekers who are considered to have a good chance of being allowed to stay in the Netherlands.